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https://theconversation.com/hello-kitty-at-50-a-japanese-success-story-of-simplicity-and-cuteness-238809>
"Hello Kitty doesn’t look her age. And despite recently turning 50, she is
showing no signs of slowing down.
In 2025, the Japanese character – worth around US$4 billion (£3.1 billion) a
year to the company that owns her – is due to star in a live-action movie. A
new amusement park and resort are also planned.
Her 50th year has been celebrated at events in Japan, Singapore, the US and the
UK, where she received a birthday message from King Charles at a state banquet
in Buckingham Palace.
Quite the party then, for a character with two black-dotted eyes, no mouth and
a yellow button nose. Designed in 1974 by Yuko Shimizu (who is not believed to
have made much money from her creation), Hello Kitty first appeared on a clear,
vinyl coin purse – and has since grown into a merchandise empire consisting of
over 50,000 different items sold across 130 countries.
Hello Kitty’s longevity is partly down to her inherent simplicity. In terms of
design, she is composed of a few basic shapes, six short marks for whiskers,
and a red bow. She is easy to recognise and cheap to reproduce.
The character also epitomises “Kawaii”, the Japanese term for cute. According
to Professor Joshua Dale, a pioneer in the field of “cuteness studies”,
perceiving objects as cute triggers psychological instincts for care and
protection.
With Hello Kitty, children relate to the small, rounded character as being
safe. Like others (see Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse and many, many more), she
provides a sense of innocence and comfort, which attracts fans from an early
age – and continue into adulthood among those longing for nostalgia.
Part of this comes down to people’s abiding enthusiasm for anthropomorphism –
the notion of endowing animals and other non-humans with human-like
characteristics. Some would argue that this is also a key element of the
infantilisation of society more generally.
Hello Kitty also has an easily relatable storyline that resonates with
consumers. According to her biography, Hello Kitty – full name Kitty White – is
a cheerful little girl (so officially not actually a cat) who lives in the
suburbs of London with her family. She is described as being “five apples tall”
and “three apples” in weight. She apparently loves to bake cookies, and her
other hobbies include travelling, listening to music and making new friends."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
